Smogless air mufflers



March 1956 G. JENISON suocuass AIR MUFFLERS Filed May 10, 1954 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Au. 1 WW 1 N VEN TOR Gearge Jew/L900 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed May 10, 1954 INVENTOR Georye Jew/L900 vgates ,exhaust p ipeleading from i "an 'interna United States Patent- SMOGLESS AIR MUFFLERS,George Jenison, Yuba City, Calif. Application May 10, 954, serial No.428,517 Y 4 Claims. or. 183 13) i The present invention relates tomufilers vand, particular-ly to a mufiler which is adapted "to rendeithe fumes emanating from the exhaust of a motor vehicle orthel'ike l's'snoxious.

It is .well known that the exhaust fumes of internal combustion enginescontain many poisonous ingredients such as carbonmonoxide, and manyconstituentswhi'ch are irritating to the nostrils and to the eyes.

'It is an object of the present invention to provide a mutfier'which isadapted to reduce or to eliminate the unpleasant nature of suchexhaustfumes.

It -is a further object of the present invention to .pro vide a mu'fllerfor the purpose set forth which makes use of steam generated by waterfiowingto the exhaust pipe under control of the operator.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rriufii'erfor the purpose set forth which has .a filter 'chamber' which normallycontains filtering ingredients and which may readily be cleansed, as bya jet .of water.

The" various features and advantages of the invention will become morefully'apparen't frorri'fthe following description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which: i

Figure -1 is a side elevation of the muffler accordingto theinvention;Fig. v.2 is a cross sectional view through vthe m, filer shown in Fig. 1showing the interior construction thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2;' i

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken alongthe lines 4-4 of 'Fig'; 5 is afragmentary sectional .view of a ,partpf the @n;an

,Figifi'jis a sectional view through the filter chamber taken alo'iig'asection transverse to the 'sectioii Shhwhin ;Referring to the drawings,reference numeral ,LO indition engine. Reference numeral 12 identifiesap is concentric along the length thereof with the exhaust pipe 10. Atube 13 is provided which is concentric with tube 12 and is spacedtherefrom. A further tube 14 is provided, see Fig. 4, which isconcentric with tube 13 and which is spaced therefrom. Reference numeral15 identifies wire mesh which covers the inlet openings of the annularspaces defined intermediate tubes 13 and 14 and intermediate tubes 13and 15. These annular spaces are intended to receive air, particularlyin the case that the muffler is mounted on a moving vehicle. In suchcase the mufller is arranged so that when the vehicle moves, air iscaused to enter through screen 15 into the annular spaces mentioned.Tube 12 has connected thereto a blower, not shown, which is provided totake into account the eventuality that the moving vehicle comes to ahalt, as for instance may be necessary when a red light is encountered.In any case, air is caused to flow from the right to the left, in Fig.2, through the annular spaces between tubes 13 and 14 and tubes 13 and15, and through 2,737,260 Patented Mar. 6, 1956 tube 12. The hot exhaustgases also flow to the left, in Fig. .2, through exhaust pipe 10. Thetubes 13, 14 and 12 are fastened together by means of bolts 16, spacermembers 17 'being provided on each bolt 16 to space adjacent tubes.

To the bottom of outer tube 14 there is connected, as by Welding, a tank18 for containing water 19. The tank can be filled by means of an inletopening cap 20, Fig. 4. When necessary, the tank 18 may be drained bymeans of removable plug 21, Fig. 2. A mixing chamber indicated generallyby the reference numeral 22 is provided for receiving air from the tubes12, 13' and 14. The mixing chamber is provided with a numberof spacedparallel bathe members 24, each of .which baffle members is providedwith a plurality ofopen'ings 25 therein, said openings 25 beingdisplaced from'adjacent openings in adja'cent bathe members whereby tocause air'enteri'ng the mixing chamber'22 from the tubes 12, 13 and 14to alter its direction frequently in traversing the mixing chamber 22..The mixing chamber has an exit opening 28 at its lower left-hand end,as viewed in Fig. 2. A tube 30 is provided which connects to exhaustpipe 10 at 31 and which supplies exhaust pipe 10 with small, measuredamounts" of water from a reservoir indicated generally b y 32;" A needlevalve 33, Fig. 5, controlled by a rod 34 having an'operating knob 35 maybe operated to control the amount of water flowing from water reservoir32 through pipe 3.0 into exhaust pipe 10. It will be understood'ithatthe water reservoir-32 will .be located at some location which isconveniently accessible ,to the operator inorderthat the needle valve 33may readily be adjusted. Reservoir 32 may be replenished bytheintermediary of a closure member 37, Fig. 1.

A vertically extending tube 40 is provided which extends froml below thewater level of water tank 18"into "communication with an opening 41 inthe bottom of the mixin'g chamber .22. The passage of exhaust gases fromexhaust 'pipe .10 through'mixing chamber 22 will cause water from tank18 to pass upwardly throughtube 40 by means of 'a syphoning action, thewater becoming thoroughly entrained in the exhaust gases as' a result ofthe turbulence created'in mixing chamber 22 as a result of the bafilemembers 24 and the placement of the open- ,ings'.'2 5 therein. -It maybe mentioned that the exhaust pipeltl becomes hot very quickly andconducts .hot gases 'therethrough. Accordingly, the small quantities ofwater entering exhaustpipe it) through tube30 from reservoir .32 'willturn into steam substantially immediately upon contacting the interiorof exhaust pipe 10. Therefore, theexit e'nd42 of exhaust pipe 10dischargesthere'from not only hot"'gases but also steam, all of whichswirls through mixing chamber 22 to'become thoroughly mixed with"wat'erfrom tank 18. A downwardly extendin'g'elhow 45 is provided at thelefthand bottom end of the mixing chamber and communicating with exitopening 28 of such chamber. A downwardly extending tube 46 is connectedto the lower end of the elbow 45, and the gases and vapors dischargedfrom mixing chamber 22 pass through downwardly extending tube 46 and aredischarged from the bottom 47 thereof. Elbow 45 and tube 46 are disposedwithin a filter chamber identified generally by the reference numeral50, said filter chamber having a common wall 51 with the tank 18.

Filter chamber 50 is provided with a door 52 having a hinge 53 along thebottom thereof, said door 52 being adapted to be fastened into closedposition by means of the fastening elements 54. A filter elementgenerally indicated at 60, in Fig. 6, is intended to be inserted infilter chamber 50, shown in Fig. 2. Filter element 60 is provided with aframe for supporting wire mesh 64 which confines aluminum particles andshavings which are loosely disposed therein, but in a manner to fill allavailable spaces intermediate the spaces defined by the mesh.

A second filter chamber 70 indicated generally in Fig. 4 is disposedabove and in registration with filter chamber 50. The upper filterchamber 70 is separated from the lower filter chamber 50 by means of amesh 72. Disposed within the interior of filter chamber 70 are aplurality of filter elements 74, each of which is provided with numerousindentations 76 and elongated openings 78 through which vapors and gaseswhich pass through filter chamber 50 and through filter chamber 70 mustpass on their Way to the exhaust pipe 80 of the mullier. Filter chamber70 is provided with a cover 82 which is removable and which may befastened into place by any suitable fastening means such as at 84. Itwill be evident that the gases and vapors leaving the mixing chamber 22will pass out from the exit end of tube 47, through the filter element60, through the wire mesh 72, through the filter elements 74, throughthe slots or openings 76, and from thence out through the exhaust pipe80 of the rnufiler.

Each of filter elements 74 may comprise pumice, diatomaceous earth, ortwo parts air slaked lime, two parts fire clay, two parts powderedbauxite, two parts bone ash, one part water and one part salt. Theingredients other than water and salt are first mixed thoroughly, andthe salt and the water are then added to produce a dough-like mixture,which is thereafter pressed into a mold, adapted to give a configurationsuch as that shown in thedrawings, said mixture being allowed to dry insaid mold. After drying, the dried mixture is burned to a dull red, andafter cooling is adapted for use in the filter chamber 70.

By means of the arrangement described hereinabove, the exhaust gasesfrom pipe are mixed with steam and water and are passed over todifferent filter elements which reduce the possibility of hydrocarbon,monoxide gas poisoning, as well as reducing troublesome and irritatingcharacteristics of the exhaust insofar as the nostrils and the eyes areconcerned.

While the present invention has been described with reference to asingle preferred embodiment, it will be understood that many changes maybe made therein by those skilled in the art without in any way departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is accordinglyintended that the foregoing disclosure be interpreted not in a limitingsense.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of my invention, what isclaimed is:

1. In a muffler for an internal combustion engine, a mufiier housing, amixing chamber within said housing, an exhaust receiving pipe deliveringexhaust gases from the engine into said housing, a plurality ofconcentric tubes disposed around said exhaust pipe and spaced from saidexhaust pipe and each other, the unused spaces intermediate the adjacentones of said pipes and intermediate the exhaust pipe and the adjacentsurrounding pipe carrying air in the direction of the exhaust gases,said air and said exhaust gases entering said housing at said mixingchamber, a water tank disposed below said plurality of tubes and mountedon the outermost tube, a vertically extending tube the bottom of whichis disposed below the water level of said tank and the top of whichcommunicates with the bottom of said mixing chamber, water be ing drawnthrough said vertical tube from said tank by reason of the flow of theexhaust gases past the top of said tube, a first filter chamber in saidhousing containing a first kind of filter element, a conduit connectingthe exit end of said mixing chamber with the entrance end of said firstfilter chamber, a second filter chamber disposed above and inregistration with said first filter chamber, said second filter chambercontaining a plurality of filter elements of a second kind of material,a wire mesh separating the first filter chamber from the second filterchamber, an exhaust pipe for said mufiler for conveying exhaust gasesand vapors from the exit end of said second filter chamher, said mixingchamber comprising a plurality of spaced bafiie members, a plurality ofopenings in each of said bafile members, said baflle openings beingarranged out of registration with adjacent openings in adjacent bafilemembers whereby gases and vapors entering said mixing chamber are causedto undergo many changes of direction whereby to cause turbulence andthorough mixing.

2. In a muffier according to claim 1, including a pipe connected to saidexhaust pipe from the engine, a water reservoir above said pipe andconnected to said pipe, and valve means operable by an operatorassociated with said reservoir permitting water to flow from saidreservoir through said pipe to said exhaust pipe from the engine wherebysaid water will turn to steam in said exhaust pipe and whereby theexhaust gases entering said mixing chamber will include steam.

' 3. In a muffler according to claim 2, said first filter elementcomprising a frame member, wire mesh on said frame member defining afilter material receiving space therewithin, and comminuted aluminumwithin said space, said aluminum filling said space but being looselypacked therein.

4. In a muffler according to claim 3, said second filter elementcomprising a mold made up of two parts air slaked lime, two parts fireclay, two parts powdered bauxite, two parts bone ash, two parts waterand one part sodium chloride.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,179,145 Southern Apr. 11', 1916 1,479,714 Herdle Jan. 1, 19241,843,999 White Feb. 9, 1932 1,919,626 Finn, Jr. July 25, 1933 FOREIGNPATENTS 28,048 Great Britain Dec. 2, 1910 312,200 Great Britain May 21,1929

